Harry Russell Potts Jr. (March 4, 1939 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman, journalist, and politician who served as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
state senator in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, representing the
27th district from 1992 to 2008. An
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate for
Governor of Virginia
The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022.
Oath of office
On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...
in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, Potts received 2.22 percent of the vote in a race won by
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
, far below the votes received by Republican
Jerry Kilgore. Following backlash within the Republican Party from his 2005 independent candidacy, Potts retired from the state senate at the following election.
Early life
Born in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
on March 4, 1939, Potts graduated from the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
with a major in journalism and a minor in political science. Potts served in the U.S. Army Reserves (1958–64).
Career
A former sports editor for the ''
Winchester Star
''The Winchester Star'' is a daily newspaper (Monday-Friday) based in Winchester, Virginia covering the Shenandoah Valley area. Subscribers may choose from either the print edition or a downloadable edition of the newspaper.
On March 6, 2018, it ...
'', Potts held various athletic management and marketing positions with the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
and
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = "The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, prov ...
. He was also once vice president of the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
. In 1982, he founded Russ Potts Productions Inc., a
small business
Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...
in sports marketing. The company claims to have promoted many of the biggest and most successful independent sporting events in North America in the past four decades, as well as worked with various collegiate teams, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.
Potts has been inducted into the
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame honors athletes, coaches, administrators, journalists and other contributors to athletics. Many of the more than 350 inductees since 1972 were born in Virginia or enjoyed success in college, professional, amateur or ...
, NACMA Hall of Fame (National Association of College Marketing Administrators),
Shenandoah University
Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools: College of Arts & Sciences (including the Division of Education and Le ...
Hall of Fame,
Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Potomac State College is a public college in Keyser, West Virginia. It is part of the West Virginia University system. Potomac State College is located approximately 90 miles (140 km) east of West Virginia University's campus in Morgantown, West ...
Hall of Fame,
John Handley High School
John Handley High School is an endowed public high school located in the city of Winchester, Virginia. It is a part of Winchester Public Schools.
It was founded by a grant from Judge John Handley, hence the school mascot, the Judges. Construct ...
Hall of Fame and the
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
Hall of Fame.
Politics
First elected to the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...
in 1991 as a Republican, Potts received 49.6% of the vote in a four-candidate race. He was re-elected by large margins in 1995 and 1999, the latter year only facing a challenger (Mark D. Tate) in the Republican primary. In 2003, he defeated Democrat
Mark R. Herring
Mark Rankin Herring (born September 25, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 47th Attorney General of Virginia from 2014 to 2022. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he previously served in the Senate of Virgin ...
, who later became Virginia's Attorney General. Potts eventually chaired the Senate Education and Health Committee. Decades earlier,
Harry Byrd, Sr.
Harry Flood Byrd Sr. (June 10, 1887 – October 20, 1966) was an American newspaper publisher, politician, and leader of the Democratic Party in Virginia for four decades as head of a political faction that became known as the Byrd Organization. ...
represented the same Senate district, but Potts actually succeeded fellow Methodist and Republican state senator
William A. Truban
William Andonia Truban (October 6, 1924 – February 3, 2007) was an American veterinarian and politician who served more than two decades as a Republican in the Virginia Senate, representing Shenandoah, Clarke, Frederick and Loudoun Counties a ...
(1971–1991). He was succeeded by
Jill Holtzman Vogel, who also defeated Mark D. Tate (in the 2007 Republican primary).
Views
Potts frequently referred to himself as a "moderate Republican," and criticized the Republican Party for being too far right politically to be in touch with the people it represents. Potts' moderate views on abortion and taxes led some Republicans to label him a
Republican In Name Only.
Republican opposition to 2005 gubernatorial run
Potts ran as an independent in the
Virginia gubernatorial election, 2005. Virginia
pundits
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowle ...
disagreed on how he would affect the November gubernatorial election, and the Winchester City Republican Committee disowned him in early March 2005. Both the Kilgore and Kaine campaigns announced his candidacy to be in their favor — the former because of Potts' relatively liberal views, and the latter for his appeal to moderate Republicans. Potts was considered an underdog to both of these candidates, trailing behind them in popular and financial support. Lloyd Ross, founder of the
Tuesday Morning
Tuesday Morning Corporation is a Dallas, Texas-headquartered household merchandise discount store, priced below department and specialty stores.
History
Tuesday Morning was established in 1974 by Lloyd Ross. Ross worked with manufacturers to bu ...
retail chain and frequent contributor to Republican campaigns, donated $300,000 to the Potts campaign.
In April 2005, Lieutenant Governor and
Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
, in his role as president of the Senate, refused to entertain a motion to strip Potts of his committee assignments. His ruling was upheld on a 27–9 vote.
Kilgore refused to debate Russ Potts, a decision which columnist Barnie Day said could strengthen Potts'
underdog
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...
appeal and was a poor decision by Kilgore. It is unclear whether this had any effect on the election's outcome. Russ Potts polled 9% in a Mason-Dixon poll, but then dropped to 6% in a September poll. He needed to poll 15% in two separate polls to qualify for participation in the October Kaine-Kilgore debate. This poll was taken before Potts' TV ads ran. Although Potts was excluded from the final debate, he agreed to be sequestered in an office at Richmond's
WTVR-TV
WTVR-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Richmond, Virginia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Its studios are located on West Broad Street on Richmond's West End, and its transmitter is located ...
during Sunday evening's debate and was not allowed to hear any of the questions nor any of the answers offered by his opponents. Minutes after the debate ended, Potts was taken into WTVR-TV studios where the station played back the debate in real time and recorded Potts' answers to each of the debate questions.
In the last week of the campaign, Jerry Kilgore's campaign sent out a direct mail piece contrasting Potts with Tim Kaine and encouraging "progressive" voters to support Potts. The piece was billed as a "2005 Official Democrat and Progressive Voter Guide," but a notice in small print, turned 90 degrees to the rest of the piece and placed next to a picture so as to resemble a photo credit, noted that it was paid for by "Virginians for Jerry Kilgore". The State Board of Elections imposed a $100 fine for the violation.
Personal life and death
Potts married Emily Strite in 1965, and they had three daughters.
After a series of falls, Potts died from
viral pneumonia
Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both of the lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, vir ...
in Winchester on December 19, 2021, aged 82.
References
Sources
Russ Potts Vision for Virginia
* Day, Barnie
Politics 101 – People don't pull for the overdog: Potts as Pac Man
June 23, 2005.
* Edds, Margaret
Russ Potts: A Republican voice from outside the tent
The Virginian-Pilot, April 10, 2005.
* Graham, Chris
Potts, Kilgore tear into Kaine roads plan
Augusta Free Press, June 29, 2005.
* Helderman, Rosalind S.
The Washington Post, March 9, 2005.
September 19, 2005.
* Shapiro, Jeff E.
Donor puts $300,000 into Potts Campaign
Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 14, 2005.
External links
* ''Follow the Money'' – H Russell Potts Jr
2005200320011999
Senate campaign contributions
2005
Governor campaign contributions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Russ
1939 births
2021 deaths
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Candidates in the 2005 United States elections
Chicago White Sox executives
Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia
Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia
Politicians from Richmond, Virginia
Politicians from Winchester, Virginia
Potomac State College of West Virginia University people
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